Singles Freedom
by TheDaVinciClub
Summary: Percy Jackson is on his epic adventure to discover who he is without cheating lovers, threatening Olympic overlords, and lying friends. Along the way he may find love again, but will he be willing to accept it at the cost of his Singles Freedom? CURRENTLY UNDER REWRITE! Friendship/Adventure/Romance in later chapters. M for language and adult themes.
1. Pilot

**This chapter was brought to you by _"My Heart Is the Worst Kind of Weapon" _by _Fall Out Boy._**

* * *

Percy Jackson, savior of Olympus, groaned in protest as the piercing shriek of his alarm clock penetrated what had-been a lovely, dreamless sleep. Lifting his head was a challenge, but after some initial difficulty, he managed to crane his neck out from underneath the fluffy comforter that encompassed his body. Bleary green eyes squinted at the glaring red numbers of the devil-machine.

_Was it really 8 already?_

His thoughts were confirmed as a second round of screeching began. Scrunching his face in pain, he quickly slammed the snooze button before rolling over onto his back. The colorlessness of the walls and ceiling were less than inspiring. Yes, it was New York. Yes, there were cloudy days where sunlight _didn't _stream through the windows and illuminate the room. But really, it was dark when he went to bed, _why must it be dark when he's supposed to wake up?_

He blamed the stupid research paper. Though the subject matter it was on wasn't difficult, the finer aspects of essay-writing had always eluded him. He'd been up past 4 trying to word it in a way that didn't scream 'dyslexic moron'. Normally, the son of Poseidon would get a decent night's rest, so he felt his reluctance with waking up after little over 3 hours was justified.

Briefly, Percy entertained the notion of sleeping in, but when Annabeth's furious face floated through his mind, he quickly nixed the idea.

She'd skin him alive if he skipped a class.

He rolled his eyes good-naturedly at the thought of her lecture on 'playing hooky' before finally getting up. Noting with some amusement that her side of the bed was perfectly made, he shrugged, walking towards the bathroom to begin his morning routine. The warm rush of water left him feeling rejuvenated. Stepping out of the shower with a towel wrapped securely around his waist, he heard the front door shut, and smiled. Annabeth always woke up an hour before him so she could get ready for her morning class at NYU.

The two demigods had moved in together shortly after Percy had turned eighteen, and he couldn't have been happier. They'd slipped into their routines like second skins.

Walking around their modest, but functional bedroom, he grabbed a clean blue t-shirt hanging from their closet. Slipping on some boxers and pair of crisp jeans, he pulled the shirt over his head and slid into a pair of well worn sandals. Snatching his phone from the charger on the nightstand, he frowned when he saw the text message.

_Jackson, need you here to monitor the Ophiotaurus while I fix its cage. Be here by nine. -H_

Percy didn't mind helping out the gods; even though he was their 'champion', he was still their tool, so there were favors called in relatively often, but he just wished he'd get some advance notice so that he could plan things. Though, he supposed, he really shouldn't complain about the opportunity to skip out on class. Annabeth would understand if he ditched because the gods made him.

And they _were_ making him. There was no such thing as a god _asking _for something. You either did it, or you were vaporized. It was pretty simple.

Letting loose a small yawn, he shot a text to Annabeth explaining that he was going to Olympus and thought he'd be back (probably) after one or two-ish. She responded with a short, 'Okay, love you, g2g', and, knowing she was probably in class by now, he left it at that.

Noticing that he still had maybe ten minutes before he had to leave, he casually slipped over to the kitchen with the intent of eating a quick bowl of cereal for breakfast. The colorful 'pebbles' might not have been _exactly_what Demeter had in mind when she went on one of her famous 'cereal' tangents, but hey, points for effort, right?

Rinsing out his bowl in the sink, he picked up his keys from the counter and his wallet, and walked out the door. Locking the door behind him, he rushed to his beloved Jeep, and flew through the streets as if he were on a mission from God.

_Which he sort of was._

After he parked, he walked straight into the Empire State building. As he'd become such a frequent visitor lately, and the fact that in the demigod world he was sort of a celebrity, the doorman didn't even try and stop him. The elevator, as always, resounded in the ear-torture that was Apollo's gag playlist. By the time he reached the 600th floor, he'd had to suffer through an awful 80's disco jam, a tacky country song about pick up trucks, and halfway through the same song that had been in the Tartarus elevator. He shook his head, marveling at how now, he could afford to worry about bad music and other tiny, mundane, issues that don't matter.

Back then, it was all about saving the world, keeping everyone alive, trying to stop a stupid, opportunist's war between the camps. But it seemed that that was in the past now. The world was safe, the camps had negotiated a peace, and, though Frank and Hazel were killed in a car accident several months ago, they, along with all of his other quest-mates, had survived the war.

Olympus was such a beautiful place, especially since Annabeth had begun redesigning the godly city. Whereas the Olympus before Annabeth stepped in had been large, looming, and threatening, the new Olympus was sleek, elegant, and graceful. She had kept the Grecian style, marble and all, but had opted for slimmer, more inviting architecture, meant to showcase the gods' power and not to force it upon the passerby.

While he didn't always like the 15 foot tall beings within the throne room (those, apparently, could not undergo renovation, no matter how much he bugged his girlfriend), after years of putting out their fires, the gods had less cause to hate Percy for simply existing, and thus, some of their interactions had actually been pleasant.

Percy saw the (thankfully human sized) Hephaestus waiting for him by the bubble tank. He felt what little energy he had drain out of him as he walked towards the god. In the tank was not one, but _two _Ophiotaurus'. Ah, problem indeed. He didn't even know that Bessie was pregnant, but then again, he hadn't been to Olympus for a few months anyways.

"Hey there, Jackson. It looks like we get to play with a world destroyer and her babe. Well, at least they're cute, right?" Hephaestus asked with a small smile and a shrug, patting Percy on the back. He could sense that his favorite son's best friend was tired clocking in. He too, wanted to get this over with, "Alright, well, I got this temporary cage set up to hold them while I work on making this original tank larger and sturdier. I'm gonna need you to take care of them while I fix it up. We don't want them getting nervous, kid. Nervous equals gassy."

The son of Poseidon let out a weak laugh, "Right."

"Let's go ahead and get started."

* * *

It took a lot less time than either of them expected, as Bessie and her calf, which Percy had already taken to naming Geno (he knew Annabeth would slap him upside the head for that one, which was precisely why he chose it), understood that they needed to remain patient for their new home. He told them little stories to keep them occupied and calm, finding that they especially enjoyed 'Jack and Jill'. When Hephaestus had finished with the tank, it looked like a futuristic palace for aquatic life. The clear steel was now plenty large enough for the two World Destroyers.

Percy moved them into the structure, spent. He was absolutely exhausted. His brain was fried from having to listen to a well meaning Hephaestus turn a small question into a lengthy explanation. Percy had just wanted to know what made the steel clear, expecting the answer to be something short like 'magic'. But no. There was no rest for the weary as he had to listen to a lecture rivaling one of Annabeth's on architecture.

Now that he thought about it, the smith god _still hadn't_ answered the question, but there was no way he was going to ask again.

After Hephaestus had said his thank you's and pat him on the back, the son of Poseidon had decided that he would grab some 'coffee' in the lobby to give him enough energy to drive home and take a nap. It tasted awful, smelled awful, and looked awful, and he mournfully looked at it with tired eyes. However, he drank it nonetheless. Almost immediately he felt refreshed, the coffee doing its intended job wonderfully. Percy disregarded his charred taste buds and poured himself a small to-go cup, wanting something to hold him over until he got home. He waved at the elevator man, and walked to his car.

Percy cranked the engine and put the brown liquid into the cup holder. Hephaestus had said that he'd need Percy back in two hours so that he could check the health of the creatures in response to their new home. Percy was fine with that, he thought he'd take a power nap, and eat lunch with Annabeth before heading back. The radio was blaring and he sang along to the chorus as loud as he could and faked his way through the rest. The raven-haired teen grabbed his atomic pick-me-up and took a long gulp. He was driving along normally when suddenly, the minivan in front of him braked for no apparent reason. He thankfully didn't rear-end the idiot, but he did feel a searing pain as his coffee sloshed onto his shirt.

Percy hissed out a muted curse and slammed the now empty cup down. The coffee wasn't supposed to wake him up _that _way. He couldn't do anything about his shirt just yet, so he settled for grumbling incoherently and giving the Honda driver the evil eye.

A look at the clock told him it was 11:38. While he was at a red light, he texted Annabeth "On break til 1, heading home to change my shirt. Afterwards, do you want to grab some lunch?"

She didn't respond, so he figured she might still be on campus. He put his phone away and continued driving, when he pulled into his parking spot he saw her Dodge Dart, and wondered if she was taking a shower or something. Percy's climbed the steps to the door and unlocked it, before closing it behind him. He pulled at the shirt so that it wasn't plastered to his body and walked to the bedroom door. He paused when he heard moaning.

The raven haired teenager stopped in his tracks. Was she...mastur...he bit his lip at the thought. It could just be the TV, but Annabeth wasn't typically one to watch that kind of stuff. He really needed to get in there and change. Just to be safe, he knocked softly at the door. There was no answer. He steeled himself for whatever potentially awkward sight was beyond the white barrier.

"Annabeth?" Percy asked cautiously as he turned the knob and opened the door. His eyes could barely register the sight they met.

A thin blonde haired boy jumped away from Percy's lithe, beautiful girlfriend as if she'd burned him. Percy's heart jumped in his throat when he saw it was indeed his girlfriend lying there, skin flushed and her lips swollen. On her neck was a bright purple bite mark, a hickey.

Her shirt was off, but she still had her bra and pants on. The guy with her was fully clothed.

"Percy! It's, it's not what it looks like!" Annabeth frantically called out, readjusting herself to look at him, her stormy grey eyes frightened. She most definitely had not been expecting her boyfriend to be home until one. For a nanosecond, her brow furrowed at the stained shirt he was wearing before she immediately refocused on the son of Poseidon in the doorway.

Percy felt like he'd just been shot out of a cannon and into a pool of quicksand. He felt like he couldn't breathe, the old nightmare of suffocation was hitting him full force. The demigod went completely rigid, as still as one of Medusa's statues. There was lava coursing through his veins, a heady silence that oxymoronically rang in his ears. He started to take in large breaths, trying desperately to get air into his system. He was in Gaea's mud hole all over again. Annabeth saw the signs of the PTSD, and her eyes grew wide, he hadn't had a panic attack since they were seventeen. She jumped up quickly to try and help him, concern etched in her features. Bringing him back to reality was her only thought and priority.

But the second she reached out to steady his broad shoulders, he snarled, "Don't touch me!"

The daughter of Athena shrank back as if he'd slapped her. Percy had never acted like this, never yelled at her before. She backed up until her knees hit the edge of the bed and fell onto it with a muffled thud.

"So this isn't what it looks like? Really? I think it's _exactly_ what it looks like! Don't fucking pretend it isn't!" Percy yelled, his sea green eyes flashing into a thunderous ocean grey. He slammed the door behind him with his foot and glared her.

"Just let me explain-" Annabeth was interrupted.

"No! What is there to explain?! Whatever words that come out of your mouth are bullshit, because the bottom line is that you _CHEATED_ on me!" Percy quickly cut her off. His breathing was ragged and his stance was like that of a cornered animal. She flinched at the word 'cheated', bending her head like a scolded child.

Meanwhile, Annabeth's lover was trying to slip by Percy while he was preoccupied with the blonde woman. He was unsuccessful.

Jason groaned in pain as he was slammed against the wall, Percy's forearm against his throat. He gasped at the ever increasing pressure on his airway. The force in which he hit the wall was so great that it made the entire room seem to rattle. A framed photo fell on top of the son of Jupiter's head, making the glass shatter. He whimpered and shut his eyes. There was a wildness in Percy's expression that was shockingly frightening.

All tiredness in Percy's bones were gone now as he pinned Jason down, "Where the hell do you think you're going? I'm not finished with you! You're going to sit your ass down, and _wait_ for me to dismiss you! Am I clear?!"

Jason was now struggling to breathe, but he nodded. As soon as Percy released him, he ran back to the bed, sitting as far away from Annabeth as he possibly could. Percy Jackson was a terribly intimidating figure. After hitting a late growth spurt, the son of Poseidon was a staggering 6'4, and weighed in at a little over 200 pounds, not an ounce of it fat. He was powerfully built, and Jason knew what he was capable of, making him all the more menacing. 'Jason Grace' would not be the most challenging or impressive enemy to add to Percy's list of defeated foes.

"Percy-" Annabeth started only to be cut off again. Even though it was _so not the time, s_eeing this take-charge, aggressive side to her boyfriend had the heat pooling in her belly.

"SHUT UP! I'm doing the talking now! _You_ will be doing the listening! I'm going to ask some questions, and _you_are going to answer them! Got it?"

Annabeth nodded - effectively silenced, her belly on _fire_. Percy was doing exactly what she had always dreamed of, taking control. But again, now was most certainly not the time. He took two long strides into their shared closet, and snatched an off-white V-neck from a hanger. Throwing his stained shirt on the floor, the blondes in the room had a brief glimpse of the tanned skin of his back pulled taut over his shoulder blades before it was hidden by cotton.

He made his way back in front of the door, in front of the two of them. The demigoddess could hear the water in the bathroom faucets straining to reach out to him. He heard it too, and took a deep, eyes-closed breath to calm himself down. The shrieking water quieted. His hands were drawn into tight fists at his sides.

"How long?" Percy asked, his fierce voice from before was softened, but strained. He looked her in the eyes, (he had never been a coward) but she couldn't meet those beautiful orbs. (The same could not be said of her). Her blonde curls hid her face as she turned away. There was a brief second of silence as she recalled when this affair began.

"A year," she choked out, on the brink of tears. She couldn't believe herself right now. It couldn't have been a year already. There was no way it had been that long, right? Sudden waves of self-loathing washed on her when she heard him suck in a wheezy breath.

"Why?" He managed to ask, trying to keep his tone even. It didn't work so well as he'd planned, his voice cracking like it did years ago during puberty.

She wouldn't respond, trying to keep her sobs quiet, her hand over her mouth.

"Answer me!"

He strode over when she still remained silent and though his pounding steps alluded to roughness, he cupped her jaw tenderly, lightly turning her head, forcing her to look at him. It broke her heart how gentle he still was with her, how well he treated her, even when she deserved anything but.

"You really want to know?" Annabeth asked, sudden resentment at the fallen angel in front of her for making her put him through more pain, "Fine."

"I needed someone who was there, Percy! You were always so busy at camp with quests and missions and helping everyone! You hardly had time to sit and watch a movie with me or eat, or do anything! I wanted a boyfriend, not a roommate! Someone who could be possessive and passionate, who'd push me up the wall and make me feel desired. For gods sake Percy we haven't had sex in a month! And you don't seem to be affected by it at all! I'm sorry, but I have needs, and you weren't even interested in filling them!"

He had let go of her when she began speaking, but was still a foot away. He leaned back on his leg, putting another few inches between them, and crossed his arms to his chest.

"Let me get this straight," Percy began, incredulity coloring his words. "You cheated on me because I refused to be a pig? Because I'm not a disrespectful horndog, always pawing at your waistband? No wait, that can't be right, because One: if you really knew me at all, you'd remember that I grew up with a scumbag who treated women - my _mother _\- like trash, and understand that I'd never want to be like him in any way.

"And Two, you're Annabeth Chase! Annabeth, you are one of the most independent women on the planet, had I even tried any of those things, you would have bit my head off! Or at least, you gave the impression that was what you'd do. Don't make me out to be the bad guy because I never took advantage of you! I was letting you decide the where the boundaries where, thinking I was chivalrous, or maybe, I don't know, _a decent human being._"

Percy was getting fired up again, but instead of a startled rage, this was a thoughtful, disbelieving fury. This was logic meets anger, the tone of anyone who was arguing a debate, and knew they would win. He verbally advanced on her quickly.

"You had me in the palm of your hand! If you wanted me home more, you should've told me, I would've made it happen! I've fallen into hell for you, held the sky for you, I think I would've found a way to shift my schedule, had you asked!"

He was looking at them in disgust, "Out of all the people that I thought would cheat, you two were never on my list. Jason, I can't believe you would do this, to anyone, much less one of your friends! Hades, you have a girlfriend, you fucking prick! I bet she doesn't even have a clue, does she? Judging from your face right now I'd say not. How did this even happen, anyway? You two just decide that since Piper wasn't scratching Jason's itch at 16 and I wasn't tossing Annabeth around every day, you'd screw each other?! Un_fucking_ believable. I'm right again!"

It was true, the guilty, shifty faces on the blondes told him all he needed to know.

"You two aren't worth my time. I'm done with you," Percy growled, blinking back the tears in his eyes. It was really over. "Annabeth, I'm moving out. You can keep the apartment, you can keep everything. I just want my clothes. In case it hasn't been made clear, we're through. Jason, the only reason I'm not beating the shit out of you right now is because I have to go tell Piper about what a douchebag she's been dating. Consider yourself lucky."

At this, Jason jumped up quickly, his hands flailing about in a halting/pacifying motion.

"No! Don't tell Piper! Plea-" the blond boy frantically pleaded, but was interrupted by Percy's powerful right hook to his jaw. The son of Jupiter saw stars and was sure the loud crack meant the bone was broken. Annabeth gasped at the aggressive display, and when Percy said "out", Jason sprinted out of the bedroom, fumbling with the doorknob with one hand while the other cradled his face. A second later the loud slam of the front door resounded through the small apartment.

The true gravity of the situation hit her full force when she saw Percy grab his shirts, pants, socks, and boxers, and begin stuffing them into his backpack. She began to sob, knowing that there was no way she could change his mind. He heard her, and paused in his motions, looking up at her with glassy green eyes.

"Stop. You don't get to cry. You weren't cheated on. You get to keep the house and everything in it. I'm the one who was screwed over," he told her matter-of-factly, detached and firm, "No." he shook his head, "You don't get to cry."

It only made her cry harder, but he didn't care. Not anymore. When he had all of his clothes magically stuffed into the backpack, he turned to her pitiful form on the bed.

"Goodbye, Annabeth. Have a nice life, but don't keep me in it. I'm not your Seaweed Brain, and you're not my Wise Girl," Percy said coldly, barely holding himself together as the reality of the moment crashed over him like a wave, relentless and impossible to hold back.

He slammed the front door shut and ran down to his Jeep Wrangler, letting the tears go as he was now out of her sight. They blurred his vision and stung his eyes, but he couldn't contain them. As soon as he was in the sheltered safety of his car, he broke down. He wept and sobbed, exhaustion again hitting him. But no. There wasn't time for that. He'd already wasted three years with Annabeth, he couldn't waste another second on her. Not when somewhere, there was an innocent daughter of Aphrodite that had no clue what a scumbag her boyfriend was, and what a whore her best friend was. Percy had work to do.


	2. To The River Styx

Piper McLean, Hero of Olympus, was having a nice, cool glass of ice tea on the front porch of the Big House when her phone rang. She was tempted to let it go to voicemail, not wanting anyone to ruin one of her first peaceful days of summer, but when she reached to put the touchscreen on vibrate and saw the caller ID as Percy, she knew she ought to answer right away.

Percy didn't often call her, but when he did, it was important. It's not like they were the best of friends, they didn't talk every day, but they still liked each other and occasionally hung out; though it was never them by themselves, Jason and Annabeth were always with them. The beautiful daughter of Aphrodite had just finished high school, she wasn't too eager to go on a quest yet. She feared that was what he needed her for, but she picked up anyways, if Percy needed a favor, he had it.

Immediately his deep, masculine voice filled her ear, but there was something off to it, "Piper, I need you to meet me at Olympus right away. I have something to tell you and it ought to be in person."

He sounded choked and raw, like he'd just yelled at the top of his lungs for hours and hours. It, and his words, troubled her greatly, "Percy, are you all right? What's going on?"

"I can't say much right now, I'm driving to Olympus. I need to see you in Hera's Garden, please, Piper, leave ASAP."

Piper's kaleidoscopic eyes, which had settled on a worried silvery gray, widened at the franticness in his tone, "Okay, I'm on my way over!"

The seventeen year old Cherokee heard the click of the call ending, and grabbed her tea, there wasn't much left of it, so she gulped it down and ran out the barrier of Camp Half Blood. She passed Peleus and unlocked her white Nitro. Piper hopped in and started the engine, peeled onto the road and sped away from her quiet, peaceful summer day. She might have broken some traffic laws on the way to the Empire State Building, but she didn't care. There was something very wrong and she needed to know about it. She saw Percy's blue Jeep a bit away from the building and parked next to him. From there she flat out _sprinted_ to the doors.

Piper had no patience for the elevator man, and one evil glare made him rush to give her access to the 600th floor. The wait to get to the top was excruciating, her ADHD kicking in full force. She tried tapping her foot, thrumming her fingers, messing with some loose string on her jean jacket, anything that might ease her fraying nerves. Nothing worked, and her gruesome mind thought of all the bad things that could be on the other side of the elevator doors. Her train of morbid thought crashed when they finally dinged open.

She fast walked to the Garden of Hera, an area she had only been to once. She got lost. She was absolutely ready to scream and throw a temper tantrum after her third failed attempt to find the place, when a hand laid itself on her shoulder. Piper went into Freak Out Mode, she grabbed the hand and tried to back flip the offending appendage's owner like she had once seen her best friend Annabeth do to Percy years ago. Unfortunately, the person expected this, and shifted on the flat stone road away from her.

"Piper! It's Percy!" A very familiar voice called out as a very familiar body stepped in front of her. She hadn't seen him in a few months, but he looked relatively unchanged. He was still Percy Jackson, and that means ridiculously attractive. With his own kaleidoscopic eyes that changed between ocean colors, his ebony black, windswept hair that was neither too long nor too short, and his tall, tan and muscular body, it was easy to see why the majority of the female half blood population claimed he was Adonis Incarnate. Not that they would ever let Annabeth Chase, his classically beautiful and extremely intimidating girlfriend know that.

Annabeth was very clear that Percy was hers. Piper didn't blame her, she knew the things that girls would do for the son of Poseidon, would do _to_ him, if under the impression that he was available. He wasn't. Apparently, as Drew had confided in her, Percy Jackson was someone to look at, not someone to touch. The last girl that tried had ended up with a fat lip the next morning.

Piper noticed the tear tracks on his flawless face, she immediately was brought back to the reality of the reason why she was there. Something was wrong. His eyes and nose were red, and if she hadn't already concluded he'd been crying, she did now.

"Percy, what's wrong? Has something happened?" She asked cautiously, noticing just now that she was surrounded by statues of peacocks and cows and Hera, the meddling Queen of the Gods. So she _had_ found the stupid garden. She hadn't doubted her navigation skills for a moment...nope...not one second...

"You oughta sit down, c'mon, there's a bench over there by the lily pond. I promise I'll tell you everything. I'm still coming to terms with it myself." Percy said, turning on his heel and leading her to an increasingly grassy area. She followed without question, the warm breeze on her face and bright blue sky seemed too perfect for the moment. With every step she took, the scenarios in her head got worse. There was a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach when she and Percy sat down on the old, charming bench. She braced herself the best she could for what he was about to say.

Water flowed to his fingertips and he absentmindedly twirled it around his arm as he tried to find the words to tell Piper her boyfriend was a cheat. It certainly wasn't something he did every day and it took him a few minutes to figure out how to manipulate the English language to work as he needed it to.

"Piper, I'm going to tell you something, and you need to keep an open mind, okay? You're not going to believe me, trust me, _I_ don't want to believe me either. But I swear to the River Styx that everything I say is true," Percy started, the thunder booming signifying that Styx would hold him to his word.

Piper nodded; the knuckles of her clenched hands white.

"Today, at around noon, I went to mine and Annabeth's apartment while I was on break. When I stepped inside, I heard...noises of pleasure...coming from our bedroom. I needed a fresh shirt from the room, so I opened the door. Well, inside I saw that Annabeth was...cheating...on me with another man. Jason Grace was that other man."

Piper gasped and brought her hand up to cover her mouth. It couldn't be true! Not Jason! She shook her head as tears of horror welled in her eyes, Percy wasn't incinerated. He was telling the truth. Her Superman was a cheater. Worse yet, he was cheating with her best friend. She didn't know what was worse, her first love betraying her or her first friend stabbing her in the back. And to think that Annabeth was so territorial over Percy when she was screwing someone else behind closed doors.

"How long?" Piper asked brokenly, her eyes a sad steel blue. Her throat felt tight, like someone had poured a hundred pounds of sand down it and expected her to swallow. She felt too big for her skin, her entire body wanted to burst into a puddle of Piper-Goo. The air was too hot to and muggy despite it being comfortable moments earlier.

"She said a," Percy stopped to regain his composure, "She said a year. Because we weren't putting out, they cheated for a year. I can't believe it." He finished hotly, anger on his mind again.

"A year?" Piper whimpered, what little control she had on her sobs disappeared as the floodgates crashed open. That, that _asshole_ had kissed her for a year after fucking her supposed_ best friend_? Warm tears of anger and heartbreak rolled down her cheeks as she thought of it. Her sounds of crying were suddenly muffled by a crushing embrace to the old friend in front of her. He was warm, but somehow it cooled her down, someone else was hurting too, someone else was in the dark with her. And he was reaching out. They had to find the light, together. He buried his face into the crook of her neck and cried too. Piper's tears drenched his new shirt and Percy's tears soaked her shoulder, but neither cared.

They needed this, they needed each other. The world might have ended in the next few hours that they sat there, weeping with the other, and neither would have known. All that mattered was the lifeline they were clinging onto. Percy like a dolphin caught in a net, and Piper like a dove with a broken wing. How were they to just "get over it"?

When they finally pulled away from each other, it was dark. Percy hadn't checked in Bessie and Geno, but he was confident they were fine, it was about the only thing he was sure of at this point. He was exhausted, and he felt like he had completely cried out every fluid ounce of water in his body. The son of Poseidon wanted nothing more than to lay down and sleep, but one look into Piper's ever changing eyes had him rooted. So he hugged her again, and when her breathing slowed and steadied a few minutes later, he didn't have the heart to pull away. Partly because Annabeth broke it all to pieces and partly because he was just as scared and alone as the Cherokee under his chin.

Sure that Hera's Garden was safe, Percy was finally granted his one wish of the day:sleep. His eyelids drooped and he quickly was claimed into the dark, nightmare filled land of Morpheus.

* * *

** Okay, so this was shorter than chapter one, but it's a transitional chapter. I'm sorry if it seemed rushed. If a bunch of you guys think I should rewrite it, I will. Again, I wrote this on an uncooperative iPhone, so bear with the mistakes please. I think my thumbs are about to fall off. Peace!**

**-Raphael Out**


	3. Till Next Time

**Well, the Percy and Piper pics on the cover art were drawn by Viria. I DON'T OWN IT. I just copied and pasted it onto Windows Paint. **

**A Guest reviewer named **_Gemini_** asked if the pairing was Percy/Piper. I will say two things in reply- **

**One: Percy and Piper have just discovered that for a year their relationships were invalid. Romance, Love, and Happiness are the very last things on their minds at this point. It'll take time and care before either are ready for that sort of thing. **

**Two: I'm actually not sure what the pairing is. I'll probably start a poll when I get to the romantic aspect of this story (which is a long way off).**

**So as for Percy/Piper: It's not a yes, it's not a no. It's a 'whatever you guys think'.**

**Sorry if I sounded mean or anything, I don't intend to be. Thanks for reading!**

* * *

_Percy was strapped to a metal chair in a pitch black room. His hands were bound behind his back by something tight and constricting. Rope was wrapped around his bare waist and thighs, rubbing his skin raw. For some reason, he was naked. _

_The place was freezing, and his teeth chattered as he worriedly tried to make out where he was. He heard a sudden shriek that seemed all too familiar._

_"Annabeth! Annabeth are you alright?!" He called out, wiggling and squirming, doing his damnedest to get out of the rope. _

_It seemed to squeeze him harder the more he struggled. Percy growled with effort as he ripped his wrists from their bonds. The torn duct tape hung lamely from his arms as he tried to find the end of the rope. There seemed to be none. Annabeth yelped again, and he called out for her._

_A harsh light came on from what seemed to be a thousand miles upwards. It shone down and allowed him to finally see where he was. It was the well he had gotten stuck in when Annabeth went looking for the Mark of Athena. From above, he heard laughter, loud and clear, wicked and sinful, "Be a man Percy! Why couldn't you be a man? All I wanted was for you to be a man!"_

_Hot tears sprang in his eyes when he heard his now Ex-Girlfriend taunt him. He remembered now that they were over, she had cheated on him. Percy wanted to scream back but found he couldn't, his voice was gone. _

_"What's wrong, Seaweed Brain, cat got your tongue?"_

_'Shut up!' Percy's brain hissed. He was still stuck to the damn chair. _

_"Oh you're no fun. Rather boring. Really, lack of spirit like that should be punished. Let's see how much you like this, Jackson."_

_Percy saw her now, a malevolent grin on her face as she stared at him. The blonde snapped her fingers, and quickly, holes appeared in the slimy brick wall and began to pour out sand at an alarming rate. His sea green eyes widened as he realized what was happening. He frantically went to undo the rope again, but still the ends evaded him._

_The sand was at his knees, and he felt his entire body stop responding to his commands. It was as if he had unknowingly swallowed a neurotoxin. The sand was at his neck, and all he could do was blink in panic. It began to rise even faster now, as if it sensed that he was close to near death by suffocation. _

_Percy held his breath it went over his nose. He knew he couldn't do that forever. As a son of Poseidon, and a very conditioned teenager, he didn't have to breathe as regularly as normal humans or demigods, but he still had to breathe eventually. Lack of oxygen was making his brain fuzzy, but the maniacal laughter of Annabeth still rung in his ears. Just as he was sure he'd pass out, a voice came through the deafening roars, "Percy? Percy wake up! Holy Hades, Percy! Breathe, wake up!"_

* * *

Percy's eyes snapped open as if hypnotized. His vision was blurred by tears but he still saw the girl who had saved him from his nightmare. Piper looked frightened but relieved, her ever changing eyes flickering like flames between a dark violet and a sapphire blue. There were dried tear tracks on her face but that didn't surprise him, he was sure he had a matching pair as well.

"Percy, are you alright? You weren't breathing, it freaked me out. I thought you were dead," Piper asked while she backed up slightly from him so he could have room.

"Uh, yeah. Yeah I'm okay," The demigod lied unconvincingly, blinking away the dark spots in his eyes.

"You sure? Because if you need me to take you to the infirmary I can."

"Nothing's _medically_ wrong with me."

Piper looked at him in confusion, her perfectly arched eyebrows scrunched up and her lips pulled into a small, one-sided frown. Her head was cocked to the side. It reminded him of his own, "You lost me." face.

"It's just," Percy started, before stopping himself. Did he really want to let Piper, who, if he were honest, wasn't his closest friend, know about his greatest and most embarrassing fear? Sure they had cried all night together, yeah he'd held her as they fell asleep, but that didn't exactly mean he would tell her everything now.

"Never mind. It's stupid. I'm fine," Percy covered for himself.

Piper nodded, and didn't push it. For that, he was grateful. He really didn't want to go into it right now. The Cherokee sat back down next to him, her hands in her lap. Percy noticed that there was a thin mist in the air, and dew on the grass. It must be very early morning, he concluded.

"Did last night, yesterday, really happen?" The daughter of Aphrodite asked quietly.

"Yeah, it happened. I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry Piper... If I had been more of a boyfriend Annabeth would never have run to Jason and this never would have happened. I'm sorry!" Percy cried out in anguish as he threw his head into his hands. It was his fault. It was _all_ his fault. If he had been a man... Why couldn't he be a man?

He was gripping his dark locks in his fingers, threading them around his knuckles and pulled as hard as he could. He needed something to make him feel like he was still alive. He didn't realize he he was crying again until the tears stung his eyes. He felt so weak and vulnerable. He didn't realize how arrogant he'd become, thinking he had the perfect life. Oh no, he couldn't be hurt anymore. There wasn't anyone trying to take over the world, he would settle down and marry the girl of his dreams. He was above reproach.

How wrong had he been.

Warm arms encircled his torso and he felt a wetness on the back of his shirt. Gods, now he was making Piper feel bad. Damn it, could he do _anything_ right? She was crying because of him, why was he such a selfish jerk? He wasn't the only injured party.

"Stop right there Percy. It is not your fault, okay? Jason would have slept with any willing girl, you didn't have anything to do with him cheating on me. I don't blame you, so don't blame yourself, please," Piper tearfully scolded. Her tone was soft and strangled, her voice hitching on the word _cheated_. Percy twisted his body so that he could properly embrace her again. He crushed her into his arms and she squeezed him back just as hard.

They needed to know that they had an anchor. Something to hold onto, and let them know that they were okay. Broken on the inside, but not on the outside.

After maybe ten minutes, the tears subsided and they just stood there, swaying in each other's arms. Her face was buried into his shoulder, and his was in the crook of her neck. It might have looked romantic to passersby, but it was just a life saving support to the two heroes.

"How are we going to make it through this, Piper? Annabeth was my future, my life, my world..." Percy whispered quietly, not making a move out of his position.

"Just hold onto each other, Percy. We have to get through this. We just have to," Piper responded gently, closing her eyes to avoid the bright light of the rising sun.

"How did so much change in the past 24 hours? This time yesterday, I was finishing up a stupid college paper. Everything was routine, simple. Predictable, even. Now everything's so screwed up."

Piper have a raspy, humorless chuckle, "I know what you mean. I had no clue waking up yesterday that my entire life would change so dramatically. It feels like something in a soap opera."

"At least soaps eventually cancelled out. This nightmare is just beginning. There's no way to tell how it's going to end."

The Cherokee was silent a moment, just listening to his steady heartbeat. It was something Annabeth and Jason didn't take away.

"Hey Percy?"

"Yeah?"

"What're you going to do now?"

"I have to tell my mom. Hades, my mom... How am I supposed to explain to her that she has to take Grandma's ring back? She loves Annabeth. I don't know how I'm supposed to say that she won't be getting a daughter in law. And then we'll both end up blubbering and I'll be back to square one."

"You were going to propose?" Piper tried to keep the shock out of her voice. It shouldn't have been that surprising, but it was.

"Not exactly. I was trying to figure out how I would, but everything seemed too cheesy or complicated and the damn thing ended up sitting in my glove box for 3 months. I swear it mocked me every time I went for my sunglasses."

They both gave real laughs this time. Small, bitter laughs, but laughs.

"After I'm done breaking the news to my mom, I'm thinking about leaving," Percy said thoughtfully. He moved so that his chin was resting on top of her head. His eyes scanned the horizon as if searching for the answers that he couldn't procure.

"Where to?"

"A carnival. And before you ask, no, I don't plan on becoming a crazy Carny. I just wanna throw stuff at people from on top of the Ferris Wheel. Annabeth would never let me do it, kept nagging at me for wanting to. But now, I'm going to issue a rein of terror and not her, or fair ground security, is going to stop me!"

Piper smiled against his firm shoulder, "Is this a "Rest of your life" thing or no?"

"Nah. I really want to go on a road trip. All across the U.S, see the things I didn't get to when I was on a quest or whatnot. Plus, I miss being on the road. I miss doing what I love-traveling, helping people. When it was me and Annabeth, I had to constantly think about what she wanted, I could never just think about me. I know it's selfish but, I want to do it anyways."

"Sounds good. I think it'll give you some time to think."

"Yeah, that's another reason. But what about you? What's in your future?"

"An immediate breakup. I don't want to make a huge scene, I just want it to be over. There's no way I'm staying with a cheater. I'll probably stay at camp for summer, and head back to Cali to see my dad. I miss him. I miss the sun and breeze. The ocean. I love New York but, California's my home. I don't want to go to college, and live a stupid mortal life though. I don't want to forget who I am."

"Yeah, I know how you feel. I'm dropping out. That kind of stuff isn't me."

"I really want to start writing, though," Piper admitted as the two broke apart. She looked at him from under her choppy bangs to see his reaction. Percy nodded, a contemplating look on his face.

"What would you write about?"

"You know, stuff I'm familiar with. Adventure, the Apocalypse, romance..." She trailed off. Thoughts of insecurity and shame popping up in her head.

Percy pulled her into a one armed hug, and after a moment they simultaneously split.

"I'm fine," she reassured herself. (And him)

"Well, I like adventure, the apocalypse, and romance! I'll do my best to sit still and read your books. Of course, if you could make an Ancient Greek copy for your friend Percy, he'd appreciate it," Percy grinned cheekily at her. It worked as he had intended it to, a wide smile broke onto her face and she laughed while promising she would.

"We'll, it's getting to be a decent hour. I think I oughta find Jason and let him know I know," Piper said looking at her watch. It read 7:24.

"Check the infirmary. He's probably there."

"Why would he be in the infirmary?"

Percy rubbed the back of his neck with his hand and gave a sheepish, but unapologetic smile, "I kinda broke his jaw."

"You did?!"

"Yeah...I won't lie...It was satisfying."

They both laughed, and Piper even joked she was mad because she had secretly planned to punch him in the face after the whole "We're through" point was made.

"There's still the nose, Pipes!" Percy had said in between bouts of laughter. In reality, it want the funniest thing Piper had ever said. It was actually a kind of lame joke, but dammit, he needed to laugh. It made him feel better. And if a lame one liner could help him, so be it. He wasn't going to be picky.

They had laughed hysterically while walking towards the elevator. Because maybe, if they pretended that everything was normal and alright, and that their hearts weren't shattered, it'd be okay. They got strange looks, but it didn't matter. It was their moment and they didn't care. Anyone who had a problem with it, in their minds, just had to deal with it because they weren't stopping for anybody.

Before Percy knew it, they were at their separate cars, ready to go their separate ways. Both heroes adopted somber expressions, realizing this was it. Life was about to move on.

"If you need anything, you can call me. I may not always answer, but I'll always get back to you, okay Piper?" Percy said while leaning against his driver door.

Piper, her hand on the Nitro's door handle, nodded, "I get calls too, and don't forget it, Mr!"

"Never!...Good luck with your writing, Beauty Queen."

"Stay safe on the road, Studley."

"Why do I feel like this is goodbye?" Percy asked, an adorable frown on his handsome face.

Piper smiled, "It's not goodbye. It's "Till Next Time"."

He smiled back and tilted his head in farewell, "Till next time then."

They both stepped into their vehicles and started the engines. Percy's phone pinged with a text.

**PIPER**

Till Next Time

The two of them turned on separate streets, and didn't look back.

After all, it wasn't goodbye. It was _Till Next Time._

* * *

**Well, that was kind of a filler chapter. It was necessary though. Next one will be out relatively soon, it's got a lot more fun in it so it'll come along faster. Thanks for reading!**

**-Raphael Out**


	4. Not OK

**Last chapter got three reviews in the first ten hours, super cool! Thank you to everyone who reviewed, favorited, followed, and read.**

**This chapter's fun for me to write because I hate Jason almost as much as I hate Frank. Jason lovers, beware.**

* * *

Piper thought long and hard about how she was going to go about breaking up with Jason. She meant it when she said she didn't want to make a scene, but she also didn't want him thinking that there was a chance they'd get back together. The daughter of Aphrodite wanted to make it very clear that she was beyond upset and that there would be no possibility for them to remain even friends. It was a challenging problem, but it needed to be solved.

She loved driving around in her car, it gave her some time to think. It was just her, a bunch of country back roads, and her CDs. She cruised around for maybe an hour or two, just contemplating about what was going to happen. Maybe she could hole herself up with Rachel in her cave, the red head was nice enough and from what Annabeth had told her, very funny. If she could be isolated off a few days, away from her prying half-sisters and all judgment, Piper would count herself lucky.

Annabeth.

How was Piper supposed to deal with _that_ problem? Certainly, Piper was going to revoke their friendship, but how could she even stand being in the blonde's presence? Seeing her guilty face would be enough to unravel the Cherokee, and Piper really didn't know what exactly she would do. Maybe scream, or cry, punch and kick... She wasn't sure that she wanted to risk it, she wanted to keep _some_ of her broken dignity.

In the end, she decided that she would ignore Annabeth's existence, and quietly tell Jason that they were done. The less people who knew about it, the less that gave her trouble, the better. When she finally parked her car in the shade of some trees near Peleus, she looked down and saw she had less than a quarter tank left. She sighed in resignation. This was going to be a long day.

Piper killed the engine and climbed out of her comfortable seat. She didn't bother looking at herself, she knew it was probably horrifying. Honestly, she didn't care. Locking the car behind her, she trekked towards the Infirmary with determination. She had to get this done. It was 9:30 when she checked her watch, as if on cue her stomach grumbled. She hadn't eaten since lunch yesterday. But, Piper decided as she entered the sick place, that would have to wait. There was business that needed to be taken care of. And he was lying pathetically on a cot, nursing a huge purple bruise and a shattered mandible.

* * *

Jason wasn't having a good day. First off, he was stuck on bed rest because his jaw was broken. The ambrosia wasn't having _any_ effect on him, and neither was the nectar. So he had to sit and let it heal on its own like a normal mortal. It was detestable.

That wasn't to mention the fact that he had been caught in one of his most pleasurable acts just yesterday. The son of Jupiter was fairly certain that Percy, whom he had offended in an obviously great way, was going to rat him out to Piper. But hey, the guy got a free face shot, shouldn't he let Jason off the hook? It was a pretty even trade, thought the blond. Either way, Percy was pissed. That was a bad thing. A _very_ bad thing. The guy was 6'4 and weighed in at 207 pounds, pure muscle. He sent Titans and Giants to hell, _been_ to hell himself. Having a guy like that angry wasn't something Jason wanted.

Not that he would go back in time to change what he did. Annabeth was definitely worth it. That woman was a _wildcat_ behind closed doors, he would deal with Percy if it meant more nights with her. After all, he was Jason Grace, Son of Jupiter, Praetor of New Rome, he didn't have anything to worry about, so long as he stayed away from the oceans.

Maybe Percy had three inches, and seventy pounds of muscle on him, but c'mon, he was Jason Grace! There was sky _everywhere!_ Already feeling better having reassured himself, he allowed himself to think on the pros of his situation. Yeah he was confined to a stupid cot, but this could work to his advantage. If Percy _had_ told Piper as he claimed he would, (Jason now believed he wouldn't, the guy was probably too busy crying like a baby to remember what he'd said) Jason could pull the sympathy cards he had up his sleeve. Piper wouldn't dare leave him hurt and alone.

This was starting to look like a good day now. He could stay and eat and just relax for a bit until Chiron got back with one of the Apollo kids, who were just starting to arrive for the summer. Maybe even cop a feel with one of them. Jupiter, he wanted to know if Annabeth was still in on their deal. If Percy was now out of the picture, they could get together more often and boy, did he want that.

Course, that would mean more lies to Piper. Not that he felt guilty for doing it, they came so easily and so sweet from his tongue that he felt actually quite proud of them. He'd brag about them, if well, they didn't blow his cover. That wasn't something he'd enjoy. One day, he would _finally_ get Piper into bed. He couldn't have his chances at that ruined. If Annabeth was a wildcat, he was sure Piper was an erupting volcano. Unfortunately, Jason didn't know for sure. The stubborn, abstinent daughter of Aphrodite hadn't ever let him get past first base. They'd been together for like two years! That'd been okay the first year, but then he got impatient.

And it wasn't like he was going to force her into having sex, that was just too much for him. There would be no coming back from that. He liked his reputation too much to risk it for that, no matter how tempting it sometimes was. But no, "I'm saving myself Jason!" "I'm not ready for that Jason!" "I'm sixteen Jason!". It was one excuse after another, so he'd turned to Annabeth. She'd let him hit a home run immediately. It was immensely great for him, but he couldn't ever get her high on pleasure. And as great as she was, the daughter of Athena still wouldn't do everything he wanted. It pissed him off, but he dealt with it, he didn't want to lose her.

Jason was brought back from his thoughts of that one pregnancy scare, thank Jupiter it was false, when he saw his girlfriend walk into the infirmary. He knew that he would be really lucky when he got to sleep with her. She was undoubtably the hottest girl at camp, even higher up on the scale than Annabeth or Drew.

Piper was tall, and while it embarrassed him that she was only an inch shorter than him, who was 6'1, it was still awesome. She could be a model, with her long, deliciously lean legs and tan bronze skin. Her stomach was flat and taut, femininely muscular in a way that made him drool. Farther up, was what made him absolutely bonkers. They were high, perky, and large. Proportionally large, but still pretty huge. And they were his.

He, Jason Grace, had the prize of all demigoddesses.

Yeah her face was hot, but that wasn't all too important to him. He didn't pay that much attention to it anymore, you see it once you've seen all you need. As she got closer to him, he expected a shocked, worried expression on her. But no, she looked stoic, calm. Almost, devoid.

The son of Jupiter grew uncomfortable at this, did she know? He would have to rely on his lying if she did. Piper wasn't all good looks, she was pretty smart, and if he slipped up once she'd catch on. He'd have to tread lightly. Putting on his best smile, he looked at her and coughed weakly, "Hey babe. I was just about to call you to see if you wanted to have brunch. I know this isn't the most romantic setting, but I can't really go anywhere with a broken jaw. Clarisse and I got into a pretty intense sparring match."

To Jason's frustration, Piper, who was now a few feet away from his bed, remained impassive, her arms crossed over her chest. She had on the same clothes he had seen her wear yesterday, a jacket and faded jeans. Her hair looked kind of messy, and now that he thought about it, it looked like she'd been crying. Uh oh.

"Clarisse didn't break your jaw, Jason. Percy did. I know this because he told me so this morning. After he told me everything else," Piper spoke coldly, her kaleidoscopic eyes glinting. Shit, Jason thought, Shit Shit Shit!

But he couldn't panic, no he had to keep his cool, "What? Percy wouldn't hurt me, Piper we're best friends! I haven't even seen him in weeks!" Jason did his best to sound shocked at her accusation instead of frightened by it. He definitely knew what she meant by 'everything else'.

"Why would he lie to me about that? Why would _you_?"

"I don't know! Maybe he's just mad at me or something!"

"Why would he be? After all, you just said you haven't seen him in weeks."

Jason's eyes widened, he was losing here, "He's lying, it's probably just a stupid prank, I swear!"

A devilish glare met his blue eyes, "Oh you swear? Would you swear on the River Styx? Because Percy did, and _funny enough_, he isn't a pile of ash right now."

The blond gulped lightly, he couldn't swear to the Styx! That'd kill him!

"Of course I would baby, but the Styx is a traditionally Greek river, I was born Roman, it wouldn't apply to me. I'm a little hurt that you'd demand something like that from me. Don't you trust me?" Jason pulled out the big guns, adopting a wounded look in his eyes. This had to work.

Unluckily for him, Piper only rolled her (now gray) eyes and scoffed, "Your persistence to bullshit astounds me. No, I don't trust you. I'm sure the Styx would hold you to an oath, but I know you won't take it, because you'll be punished! I already know that you're a cheater Jason, I just want to hear it from your lips. Say it!"

This was not good. This was not good.

"I'm not cheating on you!"

"Yes, yes you were. Not anymore. We're done, Jason. If Percy's oath hadn't been enough to convince me, you tripping on lies just now would be. There's no making me change my mind. All I want is to hear you say why. "

The Roman was sweating now, no no! This could not _be_ happening! He was silently and frantically trying to find a way out of this. There had to be a way to fool her. Dammit, why couldn't he charmspeak?!

"Tell me why you cheated," Piper commanded lacing her voice with the persuasive power. Immediately his eyes glazed over and before he could stop himself he spit out, "You weren't putting out. I was ready and you weren't. I needed someone that would let me do what I want with them."

Piper nodded tersely, she's been expecting as much, "Why Annabeth?"

"She was hot and easy. Willing and able."

"We're over. Goodbye, Jason."

When she said 'goodbye', the charmspeak's hold on him broke.

He blinked in confusion and saw her (very nice) retreating figure.

"Pipes, wait!"

As if a switch went off, her cold, aloof persona faded away and was instantly replaced by a furious, dangerous woman. She stormed over to him, her eyes a blazing orange amber, it looked like her eyes were literally on fire.

"My name is Piper McLean, not Pipes! Only my friends are allowed to call me that. You lost the right when you cheated on me! You'd best remember it!" The Cherokee snapped, punching him hard in the nose. He cried out in pain as the force of the blow broke his nose and hit the side of his bruise. Blood began to gush out and he heard her huff in satisfaction before going off. Oh, this was definitely a bad day.

* * *

Piper honestly wasn't going to punch him. Really, she only joked about it to Percy. She never actually planned on hitting him. Of course, she'd be lying if she said she didn't enjoy it. The stinging in her hand was totally worth the crunch his nose made as it broke.

The heroin of Olympus began her journey to the Oracle's cave. The sun was warm against her neck, and Piper realized how dirty she felt. Really, even for her, this was pushing it; her clothes were stiff from the amount of saline they'd absorbed, her hair was so rough and tangled it actually cut open her finger when she tried to pull apart a knot, and her face was so caked in tear tracks it felt like she was wearing a mask. Maybe she didn't look like shit, but she felt like it. Yeah, she liked to dress down, but she liked to be _clean_ while doing it. She hoped she could sneak into Percy's cabin and shower there. It was quiet, isolated, and private.

She quickly texted him, leaving no room for him to answer 'no', (Hey Percy I'm going to borrow your shower. Thanks!) and made a u-turn to head to the Aphrodite Cabin. Yeah, she didn't like it there, but she had some clothes stashed in a small trunk that she needed. White clouds rolled overhead and did their timeless sun dance. It was decently warm, if a bit humid, and she wondered if the green grass under her feet was cut regularly or just magically short. Either one was possible.

Laughter was lightly ringing through the air around the Supermodel Mausoleum which contrasted strongly with the loud punk music coming from the Ares cabin. From the doorstep of cabin 3 she could see Clarisse belching with her half brothers. Normal girls would have been disgusted, but Piper only thought about who was winning. The brunette was sure it was Clarisse. With it being the beginning of summer, campers would be coming back from their yearly breaks and filling the bunks. Soon there'd be a lot more noise around.

Piper squared her shoulders as she entered the cabin. Immediately perfume and harsh neon colors invaded her senses. She blinked and made her way to her personal bed, underneath she grabbed her old jeans and a ratty Led Zeppelin T-Shirt, along with a roll of socks and some undergarments. She made her way quickly left before her half siblings could notice her. Only Lacy and Drew were year round campers, but she really didn't want to deal with the appearance comments they would surely give her if they caught her in this state.

Her mind was on autopilot the entire way to Percy's low sea rock cabin. She remembered the huge week long fight Percy and Annabeth had had when the son of Poseidon mentioned his plans to renovate the inside of his cabin. Annabeth wanted to take over and do it, but Percy wanted to design it himself. The blonde and he were at odds all throughout the reconstruction, because she believed he thought she wasn't good enough to do it and he believed she didn't think he was capable enough to do it. Eventually, when it was finished, Percy apologized to Annabeth but refused to change his plans, Annabeth caved and life went on.

Piper was secretly glad that Percy's cabin was his design, because if he came back to CHB, and all he saw was her, when he went to bed, he might go crazy. Piper knew she would have. She opened the door and closed it behind her. The place was much bigger than the outside let on. It was dark, but bright at the same time. It reminded the daughter of Aphrodite of how a coral reef's lighting would be. The dark blue tints were soothing.

The walls were a dark gray, with a tank of flowing water, almost like a window, built in on one side. Sunlight shone through it and made shimmering facets on the dark carpet floor. A triple bunk bed (the plush varied blue pillows and comforters looked pretty comfy) was pushed against one wall and under the large water window a black leather couch sat. In the far right corner of the room was a large, queen bed, diagonally placed so that if one laid in the center, they'd face the bunks. It was on a small platform about 4 inches off the ground. To the far left was a door that she knew led to a small but functional bathroom.

Around the walls were pictures that Percy had pinned up with thumbtacks. Most of them were of Annabeth, or Annabeth and him, but there were a few of Thalia and Grover too. A faded picture of The Seven was framed and blurry, but she could still see it clearly. It was of the Heroes of Olympus the night Hazel turned 16. It was the last night she and Frank had been seen alive; Frank had run a red light, and a semi hit them. The Romans died on impact. Nico had been depressed for weeks, but slowly went back to his normal, only slightly brooding self.

Piper shook her head as she expelled the thoughts from her brain. She opened the door into the bathroom and walked to the shower. Turning the knobs all the way to hot, she began to peel off her clothes. A fluffy, aquamarine towel and wash rag were on the rack, and a full bottle of Axe Shock soap was on a shower shelf, beside some Axe Phoenix shampoo and conditioner. Eh, she'd rather smell like a clean dude than a dirty one. She stepped in the small enclosure, relishing the blazing water on her skin.

She slowly began to work the shampoo and conditioner 2-in-1 through her hair, scrubbing her scalp and combing through her chocolate locks. After she had rinsed and repeated twice, she grabbed the blue hand towel and wet it. Squirting some of the masculine soap on it, she began to wash away the built up grime on her body.

**(I could go more into this, but this is rated T, so no.)**

The daughter of Aphrodite made sure her body was free of soap, and turned off the water. Her skin, clean and fresh, retained the underlying scent of Percy's body wash. It wasn't too overpowering, and thankfully she didn't smell completely like her older friend, he had an ocean and leather scent about him as well as the cleaning agent. She snatched the towel and began to dry herself, blushing slightly at the thought of Percy using it. But hey, he'd washed it right? Right? And he hadn't been there since January right?**  
**

She wrung as much water from her hair as possible before dressing up. Piper took a long look at herself in the steamed up mirror. Yeah, she still looked like a daughter of the love goddess, but as much as she wanted to, she couldn't change that. That didn't matter much though, because her eyes were too abnormal looking right now to focus on her ethereal beauty. They were still ever changing, a revolving door of colors, but the dark circles underneath them and the sad, faraway look they tried to unsuccessfully hide told a different, scarier story than her indifferent face.

She was hurt. She knew she was. But why should she let everyone know that? The brunette wasn't naive enough to think that her split from Jason would stay under wraps forever, and when it finally exploded into public view, people would be eying her with pity. She didn't need their pity, she didn't want it. She wasn't going to let them think that it was alright to give their sympathy to her, because she was OK. She was OK... She was OK dammit!

No, no she wasn't.

Piper hit the brick wall of emotion at full speed. The realty of her failed, mutilated relationship was flashing in her head like a neon sign. Memories, good and bad, went in an out of her mind like bullets. She blinked in frustration, trying to erase them, and the haunted look in her kaleidoscopic orbs away. Tears of anger and anguish and sadness threatened to fall, and she tried in vain to stop them. She shouldn't cry over Jason. He wasn't supposed to be worth it. But hearts aren't logical. So she cried again. She sunk to the cool tile ground facing the door and sobbed like a wretch.

Piper had never been one to cry. Like, never. But this whole Jason and Annabeth thing had her bawling more than she had in her entire life. It turned her from the strong, sarcastic, independent woman into... She didn't even know how to describe herself now. The two blond's had taken away her identity. Who was Piper McLean now?

After what seemed to be hours of sniffling and incoherent, alien noises, Piper found it in herself to pull herself from the floor. She felt kind of robotic now, everything coming to her automatically. Wash face. Dry face. Hang towel. Grab clothes. Leave cabin.

Somehow, she found her way to the Oracle's Cave. It was sunset now, almost dinner time, and her stomach, which hadn't eaten since breakfast _yesterday_, growled. Maybe she could slip in and out of the dining pavilion with some food and avoid everyone. The Cherokee reached the curtain that covered the entrance into Rachel's habitat and pushed it aside. Inside, was a pretty cool pad. It had a distinct Art Rebel feel to it, and despite science, was warm. On a bright red bean bag, Rachel sat, drawing something in a sketch book. Piper knocked on the side if the cave.

"Hey Rachel."

The ginger looked up, a mirage of emotions flashing on her face, before settling on one of grim understanding, "You can stay here as long as you want. It's okay, I had a vision. Let me get us some food and we can talk about this."

Piper's shocked expression brought a small grin to RED's face,"I'm the Oracle, remember?"

The Heroin of Olympus nodded dumbly, "Okay."

"Take a seat, I'll be right back."

The tall daughter of Aphrodite walked and plopped down into a forest green bean bag chair across from the red one while the mortal scurried out. When Piper glanced at the sketchbook, a sob caught in her throat. A drawing of her and Percy, embracing and commiserating in Hera's Garden was clearly and spectacularly recaptured.

No. No Piper was not OK.

* * *

**Right, well, there's a bunch of angst and crying. I know, I don't like writing vulnerable Piper, but it's a necessary evil. People don't see the 'love of their life' cheating on them and return to their normal selves the next day, or week. It really does take time. But this story is Hurt AND Comfort, badass Percy and Piper will be returning soon. **

**Thanks for reading, following, favoriting, and reviewing!**

**-Raphael Out**


	5. Need A Ride?

**So sorry for the month long delay, but exams have been killing my free time. Between studying, testing, and sleeping with my head in a book, I've barely had time to do anything remotely fun.**

**But I refuse to give up! I have a rough outline for this story, which will (if I have my way) be at least 45 chapters, so if you don't like long books, probably best not to get attached to Singles Freedom.**

**I WILL be changing the rating to M. Sorry guys, but I think the language and everything else is just too strong for T.**

**Right well, you want to read now, I'm sure...**

* * *

Piper stared absentmindedly at the floor. In a few sentences, in a matter of seconds, her entire life changed. Two people that she trusted the most had been revealed as lying, unfaithful, good-for-nothing cheats. She was still shocked to know that it was all real. Jason and Annabeth had become the very type of people she most despised, and the daughter of Aphrodite was having trouble processing it. Who did she have now, with her anchors were gone? The logical part of her brain told her that she should forget about them and be done with it, it would be pointless to exhaust her emotional compass for such...people.

But then there was the other part of her brain that thought it necessary to put her through the emotional ringer. It flashed memories, painful and ecstatic, in her head; like some sick, twisted movie. The fresh cuts on her pride and trust stung and burned, everything she had come to know was all wrong, all fake. Nothing was right anymore. If Jason and Annabeth, people who knew how much cheating would hurt her, and yet did it anyway, couldn't be relied on, who could be? Yeah Leo was a good friend, but ever since Ogygia, he hadn't been the same, couldn't think straight without remembering how Calypso had chosen to _stay_ on the island.

Next on Piper's short list of close friends, was Percy. But there was absolutely no way she was going to go crying on his shoulder, the guy had enough to deal with on his own without her tears added to the mix. Last night had been fine, she'd be an alien if she hadn't cried, but he was on his journey to find himself. If she thought _she_ had it bad, she knew he had it ten times worse. Percy had been living, breathing, and loving Annabeth Chase for a very long time, she was a part of him. Now she was gone, and he was on his own. It would have been pretty scary for Piper.

Of course, if he found he needed her shaky support, she'd do her best to offer it, whatever condition she was in. He was a good man, and he had done a lot for every living being, including her. Piper would definitely make time for Percy Jackson, if he wanted some. The Cherokee was broken, yes, but she still stuck by her friends, even if they didn't always stick by her. (Cough, Annabeth, Cough)

Morbid, angry thoughts flew into her head. How many different ways could she kill the blonde? She could...she could... Piper sighed. This was not how she wanted to end up. She didn't want to be bitter and resentful her entire life. Of course, there was no way in hell she'd forgive any of them, not after what they'd done. But she didn't want it to consume her, like it was threatening to do. It was going to be enough trouble picking up her life without adding that kind of emotional baggage to weigh her down.

As Piper was reflecting, her eyes misted over, and she zoned out. There was a numb kind of feeling in her as she dully watched Rachel walk in carrying two plates heaping with fresh food. The redhead set the plates on a coffee table in front of the bean bag chairs. She wordlessly sat down, and the two started to eat. Piper almost moaned at the taste of the lean, steaming brisket. Yeah, the woman liked her meat.

For a moment she forgot about all her problems as she sunk her teeth into the barbecue and demolished the fruit before her. Rachel handed her a goblet with a smirk, and Piper glared at her slightly before snatching it out of her grasp. She muttered, "Coke." And watched the glass fill. Don't judge her! She'd spent a lot of energy crying, and not enough eating.

"Apollo, Piper! You're almost as bad as Percy!" Rachel lightly laughed, delicately picking apart her meal with the Big Money Manners she hated, but practiced all the same, "Are you even chewing anything, or just sucking it down like a black hole?"

Piper didn't answer in words, but rather with a nasty look. It was better than the hand gesture she had considered...

The two ate in relative silence, with Rachel occasionally commenting on Piper's 'Wolverine-like table manners' and Piper grumbling incoherently while shooting Rachel the stink eye. It was when the plates had magically disappeared that things started to feel stuffy in the cave. The awkward kind of stuffy, like the kind that happens when your parents give you 'The Talk', then give you a big hug and a box of condoms with a "stay safe" afterwords. The demigoddess realized she'd have to actually start talking about it now, to someone who had never dated, much less been cheated on.

Rachel realized her discomfort and decided to break the fragile tension by speaking up first, "You didn't deserve this, Piper. Neither did Percy. Well, no one really deserves it, but especially not you two."

Piper remained silent, so the Oracle continued, "I'm not going to say I'm sorry, because that's probably the last thing you want to hear right now. And if I did say it, I'd be lying. I'm not sorry for you, not in the slightest. If that's the kind of guy you were dating, you're better off without him. I am sorry for Jason though. He lost out on a great girl because he was stupid."

The younger girl cracked a small smile, which made Rachel grin in return. The oracle again went on, "And I have a feeling Annabeth is missing a great best friend. I promise that I had no idea about what they were up to until I went to bed last night. I wasn't even sure if it was a vision, or just a nightmare, but when I saw you, I knew."

Piper nodded, "I hoped it was a nightmare until I realized I was awake. Gods, it was like the worst horror film I'd ever seen sucked me up right into it."

"You were like Girlfriend of the Year, everyone looked up to you and Jason, and Percy and Annabeth. It's so weird to think that out of all the ways it could have ended, it went out this way."

The brunette smiled ruefully, "I don't know about Percy and Annabeth...But Jason and I weren't perfect, I mean, we fought just like everybody else. He had stupid friends...Did stupid things. And I was stubborn and independent, maybe even a bit difficult. We always had our issues, but never anything like this."

"Yeah, sometimes I forget that even though you guys are 'The Seven', you're still pretty much normal. Apollo forgive me, but right now I almost wish I wasn't the oracle," Rachel admitted, "If I weren't, I might be with Percy Jackson right now, and maybe, he wouldn't be hurting. Maybe you wouldn't be either."

Piper looked towards the redhead in shock, what was she going on about? Seeing her puzzled look, Rachel quickly explained how she had kind of been dating Percy, without him actually knowing it, but that when he went with Annabeth and she became the Virgin Oracle, that all went down the drain.

Rachel didn't sound bitter about it, just wistful, as if she had missed a good movie instead of the only guy she ever liked.

"Did it hurt? How long did it take to heal?" Piper asked desperately, if Rachel had gotten over it, she had to have some kind of handbook she could loan out, right?

"It hurt a lot. There's no feeling like the one you get knowing he's with someone else. It was so painful I threw caution to the wind, stole Percy's Pegasus, and put my life in danger so that way I could become the ever single oracle. I thought if I did that, I could break up with him before he could break up with me, even though we were never together. Healing took time, it was hard, but after a few months, it kind of faded away. I'll always love Percy, he's a good friend, but I don't need prophetic vision to know that we weren't meant to be. So I just let it go."

Time. That was the one thing that Piper didn't want to hear. She didn't have time, every second felt like a thousand years, how was she supposed to get through a couple months?

Rachel gave her an understanding look,"You know what really got me through? What really gave me strength to go on? Percy. I'm not the first to fall in love with him, I'm probably not the last, but I was the first that talked to him about it. No matter what Annabeth will tell you, he does understand emotions. Pretty well, actually. He doesn't think he knows what to say, but he does, maybe it's because he doesn't that he does. If you went to him, he'd probably find a way to cheer you up. Just remind him to follow his own wisdom, okay? Don't let him hurt more than he has to."

Piper nodded slowly, maybe she would. Probably not, but maybe she would talk to her older friend, "I don't know. He's going through this too. Who's going to get him through, especially if I'm dragging him back into it?"

"Percy's a tough guy. You're a tough girl. I'm sure you two can figure something out."

"Maybe."

"Well," Rachel said, clapping her hands on her criss-crossed knees, "That's enough depressing heavy talk for one night. So, Piper, I'm dying to know...Who's your celebrity crush? I, personally, like Derek Theler. Oh, and don't even get me started on Channing Tatum!"

Piper didn't have to get Rachel started on Channing Tatum; the mortal launched herself into it all on her own.

* * *

Three hours, two busted eardrums, and one pair of pajama pants later, Piper McLean found herself under the covers of a small, but comfy bed in Rachel's Cave. Rachel had kept her company the entire night, bringing small smiles and weak, but existent laughs from the daughter of Aphrodite. Piper was now busy deleting anything that reminded her of Jason from her phone, all photos were trashed, all text and call history erased, and his number, now titled 'World Class Ass', was blocked. It felt slightly invigorating, but also very sad. In a few taps, a huge chapter of her life was gone. Almost as if it had never happened. A few feet away, she could hear Rachel's soft snores.

It was hardly 10:30, but they were both relatively tired. Just as she was about to get off her phone, it silently vibrated with a text message.

**PERCY**

**Hey, you alright?**

She almost dropped the touchscreen in surprise, but quickly began responding.**  
**

**PIPER**

**Been better. Hbu? How'd your mom take it?**

Seconds later, he texted back.

**PERCY**

**About to tell her. Gonna suck. She knows something's up. Can't hide anything from my mom.**

Percy as a momma's boy; the thought made her smile a bit.

**PIPER**

**Hope it'll go well.**

**PERCY**

**Do you want to get brunch tomorrow? Talk some things over?**

Piper was a bit surprised, but figured he was probably going to say goodbye before heading out on his big adventure. She responded immediately.

**PIPER**

**Yeah, where at?**

**PERCY**

**Whatever's good with you's fine.**

The demigoddess thought for a moment, where would someone go to have a (probably) emotional goodbye? Certainly not your average Starbucks brunch. The thought hit her like a ton of bricks, Central Park!

**PIPER**

**How about Central Park?**

**PERCY**

**Like a picnic? Sweet! I'm in! Is 11 alright?**

Piper grinned.

**PIPER**

**I'll bring the soda and chips, if you get the sandwiches.**

**PERCY**

**Deal! I'll pick you up. Moms looking at me funny, looks like its time. Gotta stop stalling. Night.**

**PIPER**

**Night.**

The Cherokee smiled a bit, and set an alarm for 9. She didn't need too much time to get ready. First off she wasn't one of _those_ girls, the kind that took ridiculously long periods of time to get dressed. Second off, it was just a goodbye, and it was just a picnic, and it was just Percy, there wasn't a need to get unnecessarily fancy. Third off, she liked to sleep, and she was exhausted. Why not get nearly eleven hours of shut eye if she could? With those thoughts, Piper slipped into unconsciousness, her dreams, like yesterdays, were merely a slide show of her life. The life that sucked ridiculously right now. She hated it.

* * *

It was with great reluctance that Piper dragged herself from the bed in the morning. The alarm, which was blaring a 'Red Alert' type sound was by no means going to allow her to ignore it. A groan escaped her lips, and she hurriedly disabled the offensive tone. She glanced over to Rachel's bed to see the girl holding a pillow over her ears. Piper laid back on the bed for a moment and just blinked out the spots dancing in her eyes. She wiped the crust that had formed around them,

**(I don't like writing about that-eye boogers bug me-but it's normal human stuff, so, yeah)**

and cracked her molasses-like knuckles. Then she stretched like a cat across the bed before nimbly jumping onto the floor. She padded across the floor to her clothes pile (which Rachel had snatched from the Aphrodite cabin) and grabbed a pair of dark jeans, a navy blue, v-neck t-shirt, and a fresh pair of undergarments. The teen also picked up her brush. She laced up her old high tops and took off towards Percy's cabin. She avoided any and all living beings, fast walking towards the low, sea rock building with mission-oriented determination.

The daughter of Aphrodite scrunched her face up as she adjusted to the minimal, but comfortable lighting in Percy's cabin upon entering it. She allowed herself to slow down once she entered the bathroom. Switching the light on, she began to undress, quickly folding her dirty clothes into a small bundle and turned on the water. A quick search of the cabinet under the sink revealed a second set of towels, which she decided she'd use. Piper briefly felt sorry that she was using all of Percy's bathroom stuff, but she remembered that he probably wasn't going to be anywhere near Long Island for a while. He didn't necessarily need it.

Piper set the water at a warm, but not scalding, temperature, and stepped in the shower. She didn't have to shampoo and condition twice, because her hair was already clean, but she did anyways, simply because the task kept her mind off of other things she didn't really want to dwell on. She grabbed the little washcloth and, after treating it with the man-soap, scrubbed her body clean. The demigoddess gave her dark, thick locks a once-over to make sure all of the soap was gone. Satisfied with her work, she grabbed the big towel (She supposed a 6'4 guy like Percy needed XXLarge towels) and dried off.

After dressing up, Piper began to brush through her hair, not doing anything particular special with it; just the normal choppy-braid style she wore everyday. All in all, her entire process, shower, hair, and all, probably took 30 minutes. That left her with an hour and a half to buy off the Stoll's for the supplies she said she'd bring, which she knew was more than enough. The two sons of Hermes could have it to her in 20, 15 if she payed a little more. (Or charmspoke a little) Piper took a look in the perspiring mirror, praying to her mother (one of the first times _ever_) that she didn't look half as bad as she felt.

The face that met hers was familiar, but yet so alien. Her eyes, transitioning from color to color as ever they did, seemed...tired. Almost like they had aged a thousand years in a matter of days. That, she guessed, wasn't too new. Her statuesque features were the same, aristocratic and noble. When she tried to smile, it seemed fake. Like she didn't know what a smile really was, and was trying to wear someone else's grin. It wasn't her. She frowned slightly. Now _that_ was all Piper McLean. A look she could never forget, and one no person could ever replicate. Being the owner of a unique pout wasn't something she was entirely proud of, but it was something. Beggars can't be choosers right?

_Back to planet earth, McLean! _Piper thought to herself, _Get a move on!  
_

She spurred herself into action and grabbed her clothes, hung the towel, and stepped outside of the cabin into the mild June weather. The sun was decently warm, with a light breeze rustling through the trees and grass. In just over two months, she'd be eighteen. A legal adult. A free spirit with absolutely no clue what her future held. It was frightening, scary, and nerve wracking, but also exciting. Now that she and Jason were history, she could do whatever she wanted. There would be no one to tell her what to do, or where to be, or decide anything for her.

Piper disliked a lot of things in life, the mainstream world, and pop culture. But one thing she hated more than anything else was people making choices for her. She wasn't necessarily a feminist, but it aggravated her to no end when she came into contact with anyone who remotely believed in men being superior to women. Jason had the tendency to take the 'traditional male role' and try to force her decision in somethings. It was one of the recurring arguments they'd had. She had to make it clear numerous times that she wasn't a Stepford Wife and had no intention of becoming one, and that he needed to let her do her thing. Then it would be fine for a while before one of his stupid Roman friends (probably Bobby or Wesley) would tell him he was whipped and it'd start all over again.

The teen shook her head, she sure was scatter-brained today. She swiftly dropped her clothes off at the cave, careful not to wake the still sleeping Rachel. Then, Piper began her search for the Stoll brothers. Chances were, Travis was bugging Katie over near the strawberry fields. Conner would, undoubtedly, be nearby. She walked at a normal pace towards the fields, her eyes scanning the area for any sight of the Demeter girl; just as she predicted, Conner and Travis were rowdily making their way towards Katie. Piper grinned, target acquired.

The daughter of Aphrodite lightly jogged up to the slowing brothers, a few feet before they reached Katie. The two stopped moving to avoid hitting her. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Katie had disappeared.

"Conner, Travis, I need you to get a few things for me," Piper said bluntly, she didn't see the need for pleasantries. At least, not right now.

Travis squinted at her, "What do you need?"

"A six pack of coke, and a few bags of chips."

The two looked at each other and shrugged, "It'll cost you."

"I'll give you the week's schedule for the Aphrodite cabin. Unlimited access to the Barbie Mausoleum!" Piper added in a sing song voice, watching as their eyes grew wide at the planking possibilities, "Just don't touch my bunk and it's yours."

"Deal!" Conner and Travis said in unison. They spun around on their heels and began walking off to wherever they got their supplies.

"Oh and boys, I like the original chips. Don't take too long now," Piper's voice rising just slightly so they'd hear her, and when they turned, she winked saucily, the action alone made them flat out _sprint_ to get her the goods. Her charmspeak had amplified so much over the past two years that she didn't even have to _speak_ to get what she wanted. It was safer to say it, but a little bit of concentration and a well-timed gesture did her just fine now.

It kind of made her feel like a harlot, almost a bad flirt, which is why she hardly did it. It always felt like she was betraying Jason when she did the whole non-verbal route. But hey, she was single now. Why not?

Single.

Sin-gle.

siiiiingle.

She hadn't been 'single' since she was fifteen. More than two years ago. Gods, she hadn't felt this old and weathered since the damn war. It was so foreign to her, she'd been dating Jason since she even thought about dating! And the bastard had cheated on her for a good portion of that relationship. She scrunched up her nose as she thought about it, how could she _not_ have noticed that? How do you date a guy for a year (or two) and not know when he's acting funny?

It made her feel stupid and foolish. She'd been played. Oh she'd been played hard.

She huffed in frustration, blowing her choppy bangs from her face where they floated in midair for a second before drifting down again. Piper pushed her hair behind her ear to get it out of her eyes. Said eyes scanned around her, surveying the place where her feet had taken her. She was a few yards away from the Big House, in particular the porch. The wistful thought of ice tea and a gentle breeze wafted in her head before disappearing in the shadow of what now lied inside the Big House, and what he'd done to her.

She quickly smacked away those memories, she didn't want to cry..._again_.

So, instead of sitting on the porch where she risked being detected and or harassed, she decided she'd plop down exactly where she was. It was grass, not like it'd hurt her. She didn't have a phobia of dirt like her many half siblings, but she was clean, so she made sure to sit only where the grass was thickest and fullest, where there was less of a chance of her sitting in a mudhole.

After all, Piper wasn't going to be the girl that got Percy Jackson's car dirty. It was a well known fact that Percy's Jeep was his baby, in the three months that he'd had it he'd cleaned it at least twice a week. Not even Annabeth was allowed to drive, like, at all. One time he flat out refused to give her a ride to their apartment until she had changed her muddy shoes and double wrapped them in plastic bags. The guy was OCD when it came to that car, and there was no way that she would willingly get it dirty.

Piper remembered how pissed off Annabeth got when Percy refused to let her drive. The blonde ranted her ears off about how it 'wasn't fair' and how 'I'm his girlfriend, I'm more important than the stupid car.' The daughter of Aphrodite thought smuggly, _Well, you'll probably never get to drive it now._

Sure she wasn't Percy's best friend, but she did know a little bit about him. She was fairly certain that he and Annabeth were done for good. Percy didn't seem like the kind of guy to let this slide; he wasn't a pushover. All Piper knew right now was that she and Jason were done, forever. She wouldn't go back to a cheater.

Piper's thoughts were whisked into a blissful unawareness, she was zoning out. She knew her face was probably comical, imagining the squinted eyes, scrunched nose, and parted lips. She assumed it was similar to a look a guy would get as he was kneed in the crotch. But honestly, she didn't care. That particular cloud was just too fascinating. It was moving and twirling and just floating there, inconspicuously. She briefly thought about floating above the Grand Canyon, but pushed it away as she resumed her zone out.

A dark shape blurred in front of her unfocused stare, and then agin.

"Piper, hey Piper, we got the stuff you wanted. Look, Original Lays like you like and Barbecue and everything!" Travis's excited voice crashed through her void like state, she blinked before refocusing her state on the two sons of Hermes.

"Oh, okay, thanks guys. Listen, I've got to meet someone, but when I get back I'll find you and drop off the schedule," she replied, standing and taking the heavy, double wrapped plastic bag from the outstretched hand in front of her.

She left no room for objection, and the two nodded eagerly.

"We'll be in our cabin. Good luck with whatever your doing."

She nodded, and checking the time on her phone (10:45), decided she'd go ahead and wait by Thalia's Pine for Percy to come pick her up. The walk wasn't long. She patted Peleus's nose as she set down the bag. Piper pulled out her monster radar free phone as it pinged with a message.

**PERCY**

**Almost there.**

The brunette smiled softly and texted back an 'ok' before opening up one of the most irritatingly addicting apps of all time, Flappy Bird. Her record was 40, and she had never even come within a six point radius of the bar since she set it. She always played it when she had nothing else to do, like now. Piper cursed audibly as she went down at 29. She turned off the app just in time to see the growing image of Percy's Jeep heading in her direction.

Piper bent down and grabbed the chips and coke as the son of Poseidon pulled up next to her.

"Hi. Need a ride?"

* * *

**Alright, so, originally, this chapter was like 9k words, but I thought that was a bit large, and not detailed enough, so I'm splitting it and refining the next part. Thanks for reading, reviewing, and all that good stuff. Again, sorry for the delay. Hopefully the next chapter, which is angsty friendly fluff, will be up in the next week or so. **

**I'm not a huge fan of Rachel, but I don't hate her. I don't think she's bitter about the whole Percy thing, and I hope I portrayed that decently. Till next time folks!**

**-Raphael Out**


	6. Here We Go

The ride to Central Park started off quiet. The only sound was the hum of the engine. Percy felt it was kind of an uncomfortable silence, but he wasn't going to turn the radio on. Annabeth had always hated his music, said it gave her headaches, and he wasn't about to embarrass himself in front of the blonde's best friend, who almost certainly had the same taste in music as her.

He didn't really know how to start a conversation either. He wasn't sure how to act around Piper, since they hadn't ever really talked or hung out. Before this whole Annabeth/Jason mess, the son of Poseidon had always thought the Cherokee was alright. She could handle herself fine and wasn't like a lot of her half-siblings, which he liked. Percy had certainly grown to respect Piper after the Giant War, but that didn't mean her really knew her.

Piper's voice broke the quiet, "Hey, um Percy? Could we listen to the radio or something. It's ah, kind of awkward right now. No offense."

Percy snorted. He liked how Piper was straightforward. But his ears turned a shade of pink when he remembered why the radio had been off.

"Well we could, but there's not really a single out here. We'd have to listen to my CD's, and you probably wouldn't like them. Annabeth didn't really care for them. So..."

Now _Piper_ snorted, "Annabeth listens to _Bach_. And actually enjoys it. She hates pretty much any type of music that was invented after the 19th century. Your music can't be all that bad. Well, unless it's country. Then we might have issues."

"Gods, country music... Anyways, I've got a CD already in but if you don't like it I've got more in the glovebox."

The girl nodded and he turned on the system, lowering the volume first so it wouldn't overwhelm them. Immediately, the speakers came to life, mid song.

_I, I won't ever be your cornerstone._

_I, I don't wanna be here holding on._

_I, I won't ever be your cornerstone._

_I, I._

_(**Pyro**)_

It took maybe ten seconds before Piper started to laugh. A full blown laugh that had her leaning forward with tears in her eyes. Percy looked at her in alarm, ignoring the part of his ego that deflated: he told her she probably wouldn't like it. There wasn't any need to be mean.

He turned the volume down.

"What's so funny?" Percy scowled.

Piper had to catch her breath before she could answer.

"I have this exact same CD in my car right now!"

The son of Poseidon's eyebrows shot up, "You do?"

"Yeah. Come Around Sundown is one of my favorite albums ever. It made me laugh because you thought I was going to hate your music, and ironically I love it."

Percy grinned before laughing himself.

"You know, I never pegged you for a Kings of Leon fan. You seemed more like one of those girls who'd listen to April Lavigne or something fruity like that."

"_Avril_ Lavigne. And I actually do have some of her albums. She's really not as pop as you think. You might like her."

Percy nodded sarcastically, "Yeah, sure."

He was pretty happy with how things were turning out. Talking with Piper was a lot easier than he thought. The fact that she had some of the same taste in music he did just made her cooler.

He heard some rustling around and spared a quick glance away from the road. The daughter of Aphrodite had found his CD case, and was flipping through it.

Her ever changing eyes were wide and a large smile was on her lips.

"Kings of Leon, Green Day, Good Charlotte, Fall Out Boy, Three Days Grace... I think you're my musical soul mate!" She jokingly exclaimed.

"You seriously like all those bands? For real?"

"Totally, I've been hunting for some of these for a while. Ooh, _The Face._ Mind turning it up?"

He grinned at her, and obliged.

They spent the rest of the ride jamming out. Not really singing, but still into it.

When they parked, they grabbed the goods and began the hunt for a free, isolated spot. Percy had a stereotypical wicker picnic basket in his arms, which he knew was full of all sorts of sandwich supplies. He also had a small tube of blue food coloring stored in there so he could drink in style.

Also in his grip was a thin, but large blanket to sit on. The grass was soft under his heavy feet, and lushly green. He couldn't repress a grin when he spotted Hyperion's Tree. But, he noticed, the area around it seemed relatively vacant. And it did offer some shade from the blazing sun.

He waved Piper over to the tree area, before laughing at the irony of taking refuge from the sun under the sun titan's tree. Piper looked at him strangely, but didn't question him.

He spread the blanket across the ground and unceremoniously plopped down on the covered ground. Piper followed his example, though more carefully because of the sodas she carried.

"So," she began as they started to open everything up, "how did everything with your mom go last night?"

The son of Poseidon grimaced as he got the bread out and began to fix his sandwich. Last night had not been fun, or easy. Not that he'd expected it to be, but it was still so emotionally draining.

He didn't want to bum himself out too much over the memory, because it was, like the break up in general, a fresh and gaping wound. And the more he thought about any of it the more it stung. Burned, really.

Distracting himself was an effective, but only temporary solution to escaping reality. It was already started to fail. He wasn't stupid, he knew that. But the second he _stopped_ distracting himself, it all became real. He wasn't strong enough for that yet. Maybe he never would be, but he couldn't worry about it now. Baby steps, baby steps.

Percy and Piper -obviously- weren't best friends. But he felt like they were in the same boat, and he trusted her. She was the only one of his friends, war acquaintances, whatever, that he could face right now. He was too humiliatied to talk to anyone else. Piper was the only one who understood it all, the pain, the sore dignity, the crushing emotions. He didn't want to burden her, but he also wanted to let her know that she could count on him, too.

The demigod sighed as he swirled his unnaturally colbalt blue coke. Almost to will the words to arise from its depths. He opened his mouth several times, trying to figure out how to start. Piper sat quietly across from him, and he appreciated that she was letting him take his time.

"Well," Percy began, "it sucked. Like, super bad. Telling my mom, it was almost as bad as the actual break-up. I had to tell her everyrhing, relive everything. I barely made it through a few sentences before I started crying. I just, I just couldn't help it."

He had to stop himself as his mom's shocked face floated to the forefront of his mind. He clenched his eyes shut to stop the salty liquid from escaping them.

"It's okay, you don't have to go on," Piper's soft voice was soothing. It calmed him down enough to where he could continue.

"Thank you, but I think I have to. I'm sorry. My mom was so heartbroken... She loves Annabeth like a daughter. It hurt her too. And all of that plus my own feelings was just too much. It was easy to be all pissed off the day I caught them, but talking to my mom really made me realize how much I lost. Annabeth was supposed to be my forever, my future. She was everything...more than just my girlfriend.

"I can't even look back on the happy memories anymore without thinking that they're fake. Tainted. I don't know how much of my life was real and how much was lies. And thats killing me too."

Psect finished with a great heave, before wiping his eyes hurriedly with the sleeve of his shirt. He chanced a glance at Piper to gauge her reaction whilst he ate.

Her lips were in a small, tight frown, and her eyebrows were furrowed together. The eyes that never stayed the same were settled on a pale, periwinkle blue. She wasn't the same fifteen year old he'd first met aboard the Argo II. She was almost a grown woman now, going on eighteen.

Since he'd known her, her features had become regal, losing the baby fat that had stubbornly clung to her for so long. (Not that she'd ever really had much baby fat, or really any fat, the girl had always been lithe and fit) She'd grown into a confident leader, rivaling even Annabeth and Reyna, which was a substantial challenge, given the fact that she was the youngest. It was no wonder why she was rumored to be Aphrodite's favorite daughter.

"That's, that's pretty much what I've been thinking, almost verbatim. I already had this problem before with Jason, when I couldn't tell if our relationship was real or just a figment of the most. We started over at the end of the War, but I can't be certain now if it was real," Piper replied to him, violently picking at a loose string on her jeans.

Percy hesitantly reached forward and stilled her hand. Gently, he put it back to her side. She looked at him, her in the 'Vulnerable Hot Seat' now.

"I," Percy started, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand, "sheesh Piper I'm not really good at this. But, even if it wasn't real. _You_ were. It was you, not Jason or Annabeth, that woke up Festus. It was you who turned yourself into a badass, when it would have been much easier to quit. It was you who banished Khione and the Boreads. It was you who wielded the Cornucopia and Katropis."

"No matter what Jason and Annabeth were doing with each other or on their own, you were evolving. And that's something that someone can only do by themselves. Nobody can ever take that away. Not unless you let them. And you're stronger than that, Piper. You've fought for a long time to be "more than a weak Aphrodite kid", so don't let Jason and Annabeth ruin that for you."

Simultaneously, they both blushed. Piper, from being spoken of so highly, and Percy, from embarresmnet. He didn't mean to make that little mini-speech. But he couldn't help himself, it just happened. Annabeth had once told him that he was the type that got an inch and took a mile. He now understood that.

"I... Thank you, Percy. You really know how to give a pep talk," Piper thanked him, a grateful smile on her face.

"It was nothing," he grunted back.

The daughter of Aphrodite nodded at him, and the two went back to eating. Each in deep thought about what had been said.

After about twenty minutes, most of the food was gone. Piper decided to break the silence.

"Percy?"

"Hmm?"

"What're you going to do after this?"

"Well, I'm actually going to hit the road. After I drop you off of course. Wouldn't want to be charged of kidnapping." He said it jokingly, a half-genuine smile on his face.

Piper gave him an 'are you serious' look. He put his hands up in surrender, the smile real now.

"I wasn't sure that you'd leave so soon."

The son of Poseidon frowned, "I don't really have much of a choice."

"What?!"

He casually waved her off, "I worded that wrong. I can't stay here because of my own reasons. Nobody's forcing me to go. I just...can't stay. It's too hard, too painful. Everywhere I look, I see Annabeth. I see places we'd been, places we wanted to go. Streets we walked, restaurants we'd eaten at. New York reeks of her. And it's too much. The memories are overwhelming. Everything reminds me of her, and all I want to do right now is forget her...even though I know that that's not likely."

"I can understand that. Do you have a plan?"

"Plans were never my thing. I'm just going to wing it. It turns out I have money to burn. All those stupid jobs and errands I did for the gods were actually paying. I had no idea until yesterday. Hephaestus contacted me to say that he was cutting my pay down because I didn't go back to work. I asked him what he was talking about and he explained everything. I've got an Olympic bank account."

"Woah, really? if you don't mind me asking, how much do you have?"

Percy thought about it for a moment, "Hmm. Enough to retire a few times. Maybe even enough for a private island, I dunno. Once numbers start getting bigger than 6 digits my brain just kind of craps out."

Piper's eyes grew to the size of saucer plates. And then she started laughing again.

"You're, you're like, like Forrest Gump!" She got out in between fits of giggles.

She lowered and accented her voice in a poor but hilarious impression of a southern man, "Since I was like a gajillionare..."

And then they both started laughing uncontrollably.

Percy was on his back gasping for air, red in the face but feeling genuinely carefree for the first time in a few days. His barely opened sea-green eyes were twinkling like miniature stars. The sun shine through chinks in the foliage above him and warmed his face. He felt good. Like he didn't need Annabeth to be whole. He could live and laugh without her. It didn't matter that in a few hours he may feel like shit, right now he was as happy as a clam.

An elderly couple watched the scene fondly. A handsome young man and a beautiful young lady were enjoying each other's company underneath a large oak tree. Their peals of melodious laughter rung clearly, a deep, rich boom lightened by a light, airy chime. Like an ancient song.

It took many minutes to for the demigods to settle. They turned to face each other, panting and heaving, bright smiles splitting their faces. Piper's eyes were a clear, light green, dancing with mirth.

"Thank you, Piper. For everything."

"Thank you, Percy. For everything."

They grinned at each other again before slowly getting up. They put away their supplies and began the trek back to the Jeep. All while bantering lightly about movie trivia and song lyrics.

The car ride was loud as the speakers pumped music ferociously. The trip seemed shorter on the way back, and it was almost with a heavy heart that Piper saw Thalia's tree. Hanging out with Percy had really taken Her mind off of things. And she could tell she'd taken his mind away too. For both of these things, she was glad.

Percy stopped right where he'd picked her up.

She grinned at him, "Thanks for the ride."

"Anytime, Miss McLean. Anytime," he played along before his look turned more serious, "I mean it. If you ever need anything, or just want to talk, call me okay?"

"Thanks. And I will. But I think I'll be alright. I'm just going to take your advice and wing it. And also, the same goes for you. We're in this together now, don't forget it. And don't forget who _you_ are when you're out seeing the world."

"I won't."

"Good. Now have fun pelting people with popcorn from the Ferris Wheel. Till Next Time," Piper said as she gathered her things. Unbuckling from the seat, she slipped out of the car in time to hear Percy bid her Till Next Time.

Percy watched her shimmer pass through the barrier before he took off. The only thought he had before he put his Jerp in gear was:

_Here We Go_

* * *

**Well it's certainly been a while. But after reading Blood of Olympus, I wasn't as guilty about this story as I thought I would be, and am now feeling free to continue it. **

**Inspirations for this chapter were:**

**"It Was You" speech given by Jarl Ulfric Stormcloak after the sacking of Solitude. **

**"Come Around Sundown" album by Kings of Leon. I own NOTHING. I claim NOTHING.**

**I have built up a reputation as a horrible updater, so I'm not making any promises about next chapter. Sorry. Hopefully it'll be longer, but again, no promises. **

**This entire chapter was written via iPhone with a tempormental spell check that is in a habit of making re type entire sentences. I apologize for any mistakes. **

**Till Next Time,**

**-Raphael Out**


	7. Chapter One Is Done

**In honor of Percy's birthday, chapter one of the rewrite is now up.**

**If you'll look back to chapter one on this story, you'll notice I renamed 'Work To Do' to 'Pilot'.**

**It's over a thousand words longer than the original first chapter of 'Singles Freedom.'**

**There were some minor changes, (it's largely the same chapter) but I still recommend reading it.**

**I'll be reposting this AN page as I update new chapters. (I still can't promise when the chapters will come out)**

**Thanks for reading.**

**-Raphael Out.**


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